More Than 50 Reported Dead, 515 Injured After Mass Shooting in Las Vegas

A gunman, perched on a balcony at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, shot and killed at least 58 people and injured at least 515 more on the Las Vegas Strip on Sunday night, resulting in the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.

Many of those injured and killed were attending the nearby Route 91 Harvest Festival. Country music star Jason Aldean was performing on stage when the shooting began. Several survivors told the Las Vegas Sun that there was mass confusion initially, with some attendees thinking that the sound of gunfire could have been fireworks. “I was thinking it was fireworks, but then you realized that’s not what it is because people are crouched and they’re screaming,” said Monique Dumas. “We just wanted to stay together so we held hands and ran together. Then every time we would hear shooting we would duck and keep running.”

One attendee, Mike Cronk,told ABC News that he had managed to drag his friend out of the venue after he had been shot in the chest three times. While his friend managed to make it to an ambulance and is expected to recover, Cronk said that another victim “ended up dying in my arms because he was bleeding.”

Mandalay Bay and several other casinos and hotels in the vicinity immediately went on lockdown for the safety of their guests, while McCarran International Airport quickly rounded up fleeing concertgoers, who had breached a nearby perimeter fence around the airport in their attempt to escape.

Authorities identified the suspected shooter as Stephen Paddock, a 64-year-old local resident, who targeted victims from his hotel room on the 32nd floor. In a statement, Las Vegas police said that a SWAT team breached his hotel room and found the suspect dead. NBC reported that Paddock has no known connections to terrorist groups.

As the news spread across the country Monday morning, government officials and country music stars alike offered their condolences and prayers. “A tragic & heinous act of violence has shaken the #Nevadafamily,” tweeted Nevada governor Brian Sandoval, calling the attack an “act of cowardice.”

The president delivered remarks from the White House later Monday morning, and said he will fly Wednesday to Las Vegas to meet with first responders and families of the victims.

Aldean published a post on Instagram letting fans known that he and his crew were safe. “Tonight has been beyond horrific,” he wrote, adding that his “thoughts and prayers” went out to all affected. “It hurts my heart that this would happen to anyone who was just coming out to enjoy what should have been a fun night.”

With more than 50 dead, the Las Vegas shooting has become the worst mass shooting in U.S. history, surpassing the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, which resulted in 49 dead and 58 injured.